Sen. Risch conducts small business roundtable

August 23, 2013

Morning News — Leslie Mielke
Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho )speaks to small business owners at a roundtable Friday afternoon in the CHE building on the University Place campus.

Federal regulations on small business were the theme of the business roundtable hosted by Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) Friday afternoon on the University Place campus. About 30 people attended
Risch is the highest-ranking Republican) on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
From a question about credit unions, Risch commented on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
"The CFPB was slipped in through the Dodd-Frank Act," said Risch. "People will be very angry when they learn the CFPB is collecting their personal credit card information plus everything else."
Risch said he has asked the CFPB why the information is collected.
An CFPB official responded, "We need as much information as they [banks and credit unions] do," he said.
"They can't even tell what [the information] is used for," said Risch.
There is no congressional oversight for the CFPB nor is it funded by the Congress, said Risch. People working at the CFPB do not go through congressional confirmation but are appointed, he said.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act established the CFPB in 2011.
As stated on the CFPB website, "our mission is to make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans."
"I want protection from the taxes and regulations in the trucking industry," said one woman. "The trucking industry is taxed the highest of any field.
"The trucking industry may be facing filing state income taxes for every state we roll through," she said.
Risch also addressed the impact of the Affordable Care Act (known as Obamacare)
"The Democrats want to cover everybody with insurance; they are not concerned with cost," said Risch. "Cost is a Republican issue."
"I didn't vote for Obamacare and I have voted against it every time it has come up," the senator said. "I will vote not to fund Obamacare.
"It is wrong for the government to take over one-sixth of the economy," he said.
"For regulatory pressures, the EPA is still king, particularly with cities and counties," said Risch.
Commuter flights, power rates and the national debt were also discussed.
"When I was governor of the great State of Idaho, our budget for the year was $3.5 billion," said Risch. "The federal government borrows that amount each day. We borrow it; we don't print it.
"The U.S. debt is currently $17 trillion; it is not sustainable," he said.
"Idaho is not the problem," Risch said. "We need more numbers [in Congress.] Elections have consequences."